Triathletes
are notoriously searching for ways to improve their
race splits. They buy the most aerodynamic bikes,
run in the lightest shoes and swim in the fastest
wetsuits. Yet there is always the lingering question,
whether #1 world ranked Hunter Kemper or a weekend
warrior on a Sunday group ride – “How
can I get faster?”

If
indulging in the latest technology, nutritional
plans or spending more time swimming, biking or
running is not improving your race, you can probably
find that elusive competitive edge from a slightly
less conventional source, Pilates. Many coaches
and athletes are drawn to the Pilates system as
it trains the body to operate at peak performance.

Pilates
is not the latest exercise fad used by Hollywood celebrities.
It is used by elite athletes of all sports to help them
enhance athletic performance, improve technique and prevent
injuries.

As a triathlete, you may have heard of Pilates, but you
are not quite sure what it is or why it is so important.
Pilates is a mind/body exercise method that is designed
to give you strong and flexible muscles without adding
bulk. It focuses on strengthening the core stabilizing
muscles of the body, including the pelvic floor, deep
abdominals, buttock muscles and the muscles that support
the shoulder girdle and rotator cuff. At the same time,
it works on increasing the flexibility of the larger,
tighter, major muscle groups, which are in most instances
overused, to create a more balanced body.

The
philosophy of Pilates is to retrain the body to use
muscles more efficiently and save energy. Triathletes
train many hours a week in the three disciplines.
If they are not using the right muscles, an earlier
onset of fatigue will cause their stroke or stride
to suffer. Wes Hobson, a well-known former professional
triathlete and now coach, says a number of pros use
Pilates because of its core strengthening benefits.
“To many triathletes, improving distance training
and racing is all about core stabilization,”
he says. Adding, “I always try and incorporate
Pilates into my training plans. I do private sessions
twice a week and I see enormous benefits to this type
of training.”

Other
Pilates fans on the pro circuit include top athletes Matt
Reed, Chris Legh, Craig Alexander and Amanda Gillam, who
all credit Pilates for helping them return to a more flexible
state. Craig Alexander points out the enormous postural
benefits of Pilates. “If you look at the top guys
winning the race, they are the ones whose posture isn’t
suffering by the end of the race.

They
have enough strength in their core to support their bodies
even in a complete state of fatigue.” Amanda Gillam
recognizes how inflexible she is from the countless hours
of training and how elongated she feels after a session.
You don’t have to be a world ranked triathlete to
incorporate Pilates into your training week. Whatever
your pace per mile or per hundred in the pool, the benefits
of Pilates remain unfailing:

More power through core strength.

One of the most forgotten areas to strengthen for triathletes
is their core. There are several layers of abdominal muscles,
all of which are targeted by Pilates exercises. The superficial
abdominal muscles are your rectus abdominus, your “six
pack” muscles. Their primary role is to flex the
spine rather than to stabilize it. The next layer is your
oblique, which helps you rotate the spine and play more
of a role in spinal stabilization. The most important
layer is the deepest layer, the transverses abdominus,
which are the only stomach muscles that attach to the
spine and the pelvis. They wrap around your torso like
a corset and work in conjunction with your pelvic floor
muscles to provide stability to the pelvis and the spine.
Pilates exercises focus on strengthening all of these
layers together in order to give a more global strength
through your core. Pro triathlete, Kelly Reed, recognizes
how out of touch she is with these muscles 8 months into
her first pregnancy, and looks forward to continuing Pilates
to strengthen them again after she gives birth.

The buttock muscles are also very important in stabilizing
the pelvis, particularly for running and cycling activities.
There are also several different buttock muscles, which
have different roles. The biggest buttock muscles are
the gluteus maximus, which are the large powerful muscles
that provide propulsion in running and cycling. The gluteus
medius muscles work to stabilize the pelvis and the legs
while running and cycling.

Using your body’s entire core generates the real
power in your push off, pedal stroke or pull through the
water. Much of your energy comes from this area. By transferring
that core energy to your extremities, you’ll get
more power out of your stroke or stride. Triathletes are
generally strong through their larger muscle groups and
quite weak through the smaller stabilizing muscles. Just
doing sit-ups and squats won’t strengthen these
muscles. The larger muscles will continue to take over
and get stronger and the smaller muscles will continue
to get weaker. Wes Hobson and Matt Reed were surprised
at their inability to fire muscles they thought were much
stronger. They realized what an imbalance had been created
in their bodies and what the potential was for inefficiency
and injury.
Common triathlon technique problems that can be improved
through Pilates are:

Flexibility training should be an integral part of every
athlete’s training program. Enhanced flexibility will
reduce injuries and improve performance and technique. Most
triathletes are guilty of not stretching. They will spend
numerous hours training every week but somehow are not able
to find a few minutes before or after a workout to stretch.

Tight muscles can have a huge detriment to your technique
in all three disciplines. They are also a major cause of
low back pain and injury in the joints. For example,

Tight
quadriceps will:

-
Decrease your distance per stride in running and decrease
the extension at the hip
- Limit your range of motion in your freestyle kick making
kicking difficult
- Increase the arch in your lower back which can lead
to low back pain
- Increase the risk of knee pain with running and cycling

Tight hamstrings will:

-
Cause your lower back to be more rounded on the bike which
increases the risk of injury and decreases the power on
the bike
- Decrease stride length in running
- Cause a higher chance of hamstring tears

A consistent Pilates routine will ensure that proper stretching
becomes an integral part of your training program. The core
muscle groups will work synergistically together to make
the spine more supple. The tight muscles will lengthen and
promote healthy blood circulation and lubrication to your
joints. This will not only improve range of motion, but
will also better prepare your joints to manage the repetitive
stresses your joints must handle during the countless hours
of training.

Mr.
Pilates’ ideal vision of “Contrology,”
which is what he originally named his exercise routine,
was to uniformly develop the body and to make the spine
more pliable so individuals can breathe better so that
the body is able to cleanse itself. He believed that every
person is an athlete and we all have a right to be strong
and healthy.

How
to get started.

Pilates consists of a series of matwork exercises
plus exercises performed on specialized equipment
created by Joseph Pilates. All Pilates exercises should
need to be performed with precise technique, with
the emphasis being on correct posture and muscle activation.
While Pilates is commonly performed in a large class
format, triathletes will gain much more benefit from
a triathlon specific Pilates program and one-on-one
sessions with a highly trained Pilates instructor.